


Sure

by helsinkibaby



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Age Difference, Community: comment_fic, F/M, Het, One Night Stands, Pregnancy, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-06
Updated: 2016-10-06
Packaged: 2018-08-19 22:29:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8226847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helsinkibaby/pseuds/helsinkibaby
Summary: Caitlin gives up coffee, which surprises everyone. But no-one more so than Joe.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Theme : Tropes  
> Prompt:   
> The Flash, Joe West/Caitlin Snow, They have a one night stand and now Caitlin is telling Joe she is pregnant.   
> http://comment-fic.livejournal.com/757562.html?thread=99807546#t99807546

"Hey, Cisco, where's Caitlin? Dinner's almost ready." 

Joe looked around to Cisco, surprised to see him rolling his eyes at Iris's question. "She said to go ahead without her," he replied. Iris looked surprised and Cisco held up both hands like he was trying to ward off an attack. "I tried to talk her into coming, I even mentioned you were making lasagne" he told her. "But she has some experiment going on that she just has to be there for, and besides, I'm not going to do anything else to get on her bad side." 

It sounded like there was a story there and Wally, still learning the ways of the STAR Labs dynamics, asked the obvious question that the rest of them wouldn't touch. "What did you do?" 

"Nothing!" Cisco's hands were spread wide as his voice went up an octave, maybe two. "Barry, tell them, I did nothing." 

"He did nothing." Barry nodded sagely, lips twitching only a little. "Well, almost nothing." 

There was laughter at that and Cisco looked affronted. "She's like a bear with a sore paw... It's this ridiculous diet she's on," he sniffed. "As if she needed to lose any weight... I swear, I'm getting her a Jitters gift card just to give her an excuse to buy coffee again..." 

Barry tilted his head. "Caitlin's given up coffee? Don't you and she practically have that as a blood type?" 

"I know, right?" Cisco's head bobbed up and down crazily. "The withdrawal jitters are real, my friend, no wonder she's been in such a foul mood lately..." 

"Leave her alone." Iris loyally stuck up for her friend. "I'll save her a slice; Barry, you can bring it in tomorrow." She stopped, as if considering who she was talking to. "On second thought, I'll bring it by tomorrow..." 

There was more laughter at that and Joe smiled too, even if he was fairly sure that the smile didn't reach his eyes. None of the kids were looking at him that closely though, were all lost in their conversation so he didn't feel bad about pulling out his phone, pressing a few buttons. He didn't even feel bad when it chimed seconds later and he pretended like he was reading a text message. 

The chime had alerted Iris though. "Please don't tell me that's work," she said and he shrugged apologetically. 

"The DA needs to ask me some questions about a case," he said. "It can't wait." Iris's face fell and he kissed her cheek quickly. "I'm sorry, baby... Don't let Barry eat my share, OK?"

He was gone before she could say much more, making his way quickly to his car and driving away. He knew he should feel guilty about lying to Iris but his mind was whirling so much that he couldn't as pieces of a jigsaw puzzle he hadn't even realised he was looking at fell into place. 

One detour - one important detour later - and he was pulling into STAR Labs, parking right beside Caitlin's little green car in the otherwise empty lot. He made his way up to the cortex, not sure if the new security measures would alert her to his presence but when he walked in and said her name, she jumped a mile. 

"What are you doing here?" she demanded. As if she realised how that sounded, she modulated her tone, softened her expression even as she crossed her arms over her chest, the action pulling her lab coat closed. "Don't tell me Iris sent you with dinner." 

"No." He took a step closer to her. "No dinner. But I did bring you some coffee." 

She blinked when she saw the cardboard cup in his hand, took a giant step backwards. "I'm trying to quit," she told him and he didn't miss how her face seemed to drain of colour. 

"You sure?" He took another step towards her, held out the cup. "It's just the way you like it... Take a sniff." 

He made to lift the lid but her yelp of distress put paid to that idea pretty quickly. Even holding it out to her the way he was had made her turn practically green and he had the answer to the question he hadn't even asked. Turning away, he walked into the other room, found the sink and poured the contents of the cup down the drain, letting the water run for a good thirty seconds afterwards as he washed his hands, making sure there was no lingering aroma. 

Or maybe just to give him some time to collect his thoughts. 

When he went back, she was turned her head to look at him, her hands braced on the computer console like she was readying for battle. She met his eyes and took a deep breath. 

"How did you know?" 

"I didn't," he said, crossing his arms and standing his ground. "Not til just now. I knew something was bugging you... I just thought..." A flash of memory came to mind, him moving on top of her as her nails scored into his back, her crying his name as she arched around him. He shook his head to clear the image. "You know what I thought. Then Cisco mentioned you'd given up coffee... Francine gave up coffee when she was pregnant with Iris."

"It's the smell." Even the mention of it sent her horribly pale and she sank down into her chair. "I just can't..." 

He nodded as he looked at her, really looked at her in a way that he hadn't let himself do in the last three months. Yes, she was pale. But for a woman who Cisco swore was on a diet, she hadn't lost any weight. In fact, her breasts were definitely fuller than he remembered them being (and just like that, he remembered how they felt in his hands and his palms itched with desire) and as she stood back up, her lab coat moved slightly and he could see a definite curve to her stomach that wasn't there a few weeks ago. 

"When were you going to tell me?" His voice, hoarse with emotion, broke the silence. "Were you?"

"Of course!" She sounded appalled, insulted that he'd think such a thing. "I just didn't know how." Her knuckles were white as one hand gripped the console like it was the only thing holding her up. "It was one night, Joe, and we agreed it wouldn't... it couldn't happen again. We had good reasons for that." 

"I know." He took a step closer. "Are you keeping it?" 

Her lips pressed into a thin line and she didn't break eye contact with him as she moved her head up and down slowly. 

"Ok." The word was a breath from his lips. "Ok."

Caitlin twisted her fingers together. "I know this is a lot for you to take in," she said. "You weren't expecting this, and you've raised your family and I want you to know, I understand that. I'm not expecting you to-"

"To what?" He narrowed his eyes as her meaning dawned on him. "To be there?" Her eyes filled with tears and suddenly he was standing in front of her, with no clear memory of actually moving. "Caitlin, I missed out on Wally's whole life because I didn't know about him. You think I could watch you raise a baby... our baby... and not be a part of that?" 

She started to tremble the moment the words "our baby," left his lips. "We had reasons-" she whispered again, her eyes filling with tears and he didn't let her finish. 

"We did," he agreed. "And in a fifty-fifty decision over whether we could start something, we probably made the right call. But Caitlin..." He reached out with both hands, pushed her lab coat apart, exposing her midsection to his gaze. This close, there was no mistaking what he was looking at. "This changes everything." 

She stared at him, eyes wide, a single tear snaking its way down her cheek. "You need to be sure." Her voice was choked. "You need to be absolutely sure." 

"Caitlin..." His voice was low as one hand reached out and slowly, reverently, made contact with her stomach. "Baby, I'm sure." 

Caitlin burst into tears. 

He didn't know how much later it was when her sobs subsided, but when they did, there was a large wet patch on his shirt over his heart where he'd pulled her close against him. She went to the medical bay, pulled tissues from the dispenser and scrubbed at her face and when she was finished, he was sitting on one of the beds, looking at her. 

"You won't be able to hide it much longer," he told her quietly, now unable to keep his eyes off her midsection, hardly able to believe he hadn't spotted it before now. Some detective he was. 

Of course, she made it easier on him by shucking off her lab coat, smoothing down the front of her dress to accentuate the tiny bump. "It's only like this at the end of the day," she said and her voice was soft, full of wonder. "Or if I have a big meal. Or both." 

She looked up then, met his gaze and he held a hand out to her. She walked over to him, took his outstretched hand in hers and, as if drawn by a magnet, his other hand went to her stomach, thumb sweeping up and down. "Have you been sick?"

Caitlin smiled. "Only around coffee." He spread his legs and she stepped inside them, let her head fall against his shoulder as she leaned against him, dropping his hand from hers as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "I almost told Cisco that I was going to ban it from the facility, I made up this story about being on a diet because I couldn't tell him the real reason..." He smiled into her hair as his now free hand came to rest on the small of her back, rubbing gently and she made a tiny noise in the back of her throat. 

"He hasn't noticed?" 

"This?" She lifted her head, moved one of her hands so that it covered his on her stomach. "Barry, Cisco, Wally... Not a clue." He knew he must look sceptical because of how well they knew her, how much time they spent there, but Caitlin shook her head. "I think they don't expect to see it, so they don't. They're guys," was the explanation she gave him and, as he thought back to his experiences when he was their age, he had to give her that. "I have been avoiding Iris though," she admitted and he grimaced as he recalled the earlier conversation at his house. 

"She's going to come by tomorrow," he told her. "Bring you some lasagne, assuming they leave some." Which was a safe bet if Iris was in charge. 

Caitlin chuckled. "I'll wear something loose."

"Or..." He let his voice trail off, waiting for her to fill in the blanks but she just looked at him, and he knew her well enough to know that she was waiting for him to finish. "Or we tell them. Tonight. Now." 

Her eyes went wide and she caught her lower lip between her teeth. "Are you sure?" she asked, her voice shaking suddenly. 

"Caitlin..." He'd already told her as much, but he was ready to tell her again, and again, as many times as he needed to. "This is our baby." She shivered. "I'm here. I'm not going anywhere. And I'm sure." 

Moving his hand from her back, he cupped her cheek, drew her in close. "I'm sure," he whispered again, right before his lips touched hers. 

When they left STAR Labs, they were hand in hand. 

And when they silenced conversation in the West living room, they were hand in hand then too.


End file.
